New PRSalpha and no Y movement

[fredtoo]

Finally I got back to my new Shopbot assembly and finished the wiring today. I have the expected X and Z movement but no Y. With the motor disengaged from the gearing I get smooth easy movement. With the gear engaged and motor disconnected from the driver I get harder but still smooth movement. When I use the keypad to move the Y and hold the Y motor I can feel one very slight 'clunk' when moving away from 0, when trying to move back toward 0 I feel nothing. So, should my next step be to unplug the X motors and plug the Y motor in one of the X drivers to see it that helps? And if it doesn't, what then?

[myxpykalix]

Someone else was having a similar problem and after all the wrong suggestions we made it turned out that he had the wrong motor on the Y axis.

You might want to try making sure you have the right motors in the right place. A call to shopbot will verify what goes where.

This clunk you feel moving away from 0, is that in the Y moving across the table?

When you move it back you say you don't feel that, but do you move it all the way back to 0?

Take motor loose check all gears and check the gear rails to see all teeth are not damaged.

[fredtoo]

Jack, thanks for the response. Answering your questions - I believe I have the motors in the right locations as they are well labeled. I have the Y roughly a foot in from 0 and when I do a MY(anything) I can sometimes feel a subtle clunk. When I do a MY-(anything) I feel nothing. Note: prior to the commands above I did a z3 to zero out the positions. Also note: when I do a my(anything) the y position counters move as expected. I'll drop ShopBot support an email and hope for the best.

[fredtoo]

And I forgot to mention, I unplugged one of the x motors and plugged the y motor into its location and when doing a mx(anything) the y (and x) move.

[fredtoo]

So, the multicolored ribbon cable running from the control board to the motor driver is bad. I swapped out the ribbon cable between the Y and Z and the problem moved with the cable. Hopefully ShopBot can fix me up tomorrow.

[GlenP]

Amazing eh, when we have a problem with our machines it makes us think and learn something new. I'll bet you thought of allot of things during the troubleshoot. Glad you found it and I am sure Shopbot will fix you up asap. Have fun with the new machine once your going. Post some pics of your setup.